Our department of 24 faculty, 389 undergraduates, and 187 graduate students welcomes you. Established in 1867, we have a long tradition of excellence in teaching, research, and service.

Student News - March 2015

Areas of Concentration Needed

MatSE undergraduates: Please complete this short online form to let the department know your area of concentration (ceramics, metals, polymer, electronic materials, biomaterials). The information will be used in determining scholarships for the 2015-16 academic year. The form needs to be completed by March 18: https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/1154955

MatSE Awards Banquet

The MatSE Student and Alumni Awards Banquet will be held on Friday, April 17, at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. There will be a social hour with a cash bar from 6:00-7:00; dinner will be served at 7:00; and the awards ceremony will begin at 8:00. Tickets will go on sale after spring break.

Congratulations

Prof. JJ Cheng was selected as a 2015 ACS-POLY Fellow.
Prof. Kris Kilian has received the NSF CAREER Award.
Prof. David Cahill will receive the 2015 Yeram S. Touloukian Award from ASME.
Prof. Dallas Trinkle was named a Willett Faculty Scholar by the College of Engineering.

Career Advice

Engineering Career Services will be coming to MatSE to advise students on their job search and review resumes. Interested students should drop by 205A MSEB from 3:30-4:40 pm on Tuesday, March 10.

Alumni Seminar

MatSE undergraduates are invited to have lunch with alumnus David Watson (BS Ceramic Engr. 1989) at 12:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, in room 322 MSEB. David Watson will talk to students about two areas: 1) What do I want to be when I grow up? He will provide some perspective on the different areas students might be able to take their degree outside of college. 2) How do I make myself more "compelling" for interviews, whether for internships or full-time? He will let students know what an interview might look like from a hiring perspective. Seating is limited; free lunch. Email Cindy Brya by March 13 if you would like to attend.

EOH 2015

Engineering Open House will take place on March 13-14. The open hours are 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. on Friday and 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Saturday. Good luck to all our MatSE exhibits!

Material Advantage News

Material Advantage's general meeting will be Thursday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. in room 119 MSEB. At the meeting, MA will be reviewing positions in preparation for elections and will be decorating MSEB for EOH.

Service Opportunities

Destination Technology/EOH Tours -
This month the middle school students who participate in Destination Technology will be visiting us! Come help on Saturday during EOH! We need multiple volunteers to chaperone the students while they explore the many exhibits on display. Lunch will be provided for volunteers working the entire day. If you cannot work the entire day, shifts are available. Please contact Kim (kjcampb2@illinois.edu) or Kelsey (wu105@illinois.edu) if you are interested or have any questions.

Going back home to the Chicagoland area during spring break this year? Come out to the southwestern suburbs for a day to teach middle school students about MatSE. More details to come. Please contact Kim (kjcampb2@illinois.edu) or Kelsey (wu105@illinois.edu) if you are interested or have any questions.

Graduation Lunch

May 2015 BS/MS/PhD graduates and their families are invited to the MatSE Graduation Lunch on Sunday, May 17, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Illini Rooms A & B, Illini Union. The lunch buffet will be followed by a short program. Graduates will receive three complimentary tickets. The three tickets includes the ticket for the graduate's lunch. Additional tickets may be purchased for $10 each.
Online registration for the MatSE Graduation Lunch will open in late April.

Many voices

All faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to participate in "#manyvoices: A Campus Conversation on Diversity" this spring. The goal of the conversations is to ask ourselves how the University can develop and sustain an inclusive Illinois; build bridges across differences on our campus; and think creatively about school spirit. There will be campus-wide conversations for graduate and professional students at 11:30 a.m. March 30 in the Alice Campbell Ballroom and for undergraduate students at 7:00 p.m. March 31 in Student Dining and Residential Programs (SDRP).

TEDxUIUC 2015

TEDxUIUC 2015 is a day-long conference with presentations, performances, discussions,​ ​and more that aims to enhance the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign community through a TED-like experience of "Ideas Worth Spreading." This year's conference will be held at the I Hotel and Conference Center on Sunday, April 19. For more information, go to tedxuiuc.com. Application deadline: March 20.

Engineering Convergence

Engineering at Illinois Convergence will take place on Monday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Maggiano's Little Italy in Schaumburg, IL. This dinner and discussion provides an opportunity for engineering students and alumni to interact, share information and career advice, and build networks in an informal, non-recruiting setting. Registration

BEST Symposium

PhD students and postdocs from U.S. ethnic minority groups (Hispanic, African American, or Native American) are invited to a conference hosted by The Dow Chemical Company. BEST (Building Engineering and Science Talent) will be held in Midland, MI, on September 14-16. Applicants should be within 18 months of degree completion by the conference date. Applications are due by June 15. All travel expenses, meals, and hotel accommodations for those selected to participate in the BEST Symposium will be paid for by The Dow Chemical Company. For more information, go to www.dow.com/BEST.

ExxonMobil LOFT Fellowship

ExxonMobil has partnered with the Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF) to create fellowships in STEM fields for Hispanic college students. Through HHF’s Latinos On Fast Track (LOFT) program, ExxonMobil seeks to nurture motivated college students across the country, with a passion for Engineering and Science. The Fellowship consists of: five 1-hour meetings with mentor (virtual or in person), participation in the Harvard-certified ExxonMobil mentee program (on-line), an exclusive curriculum to introduce Fellows to the organization and company career opportunities, and a $1,000 educational grant. In addition, there exists the possibility to interview for ExxonMobil positions (internships/full-time) upon successful completion of the Fellowship. This opportunity is highly competitive and open to sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students attending a 4 year college or university. Must plan to pursue a career in an STEM field, have a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States with a valid Social Security Number at the time of application. Application information

MatSE Jobs

Cindy Brya emails the undergrad and grad student listserves with job opportunities or internships for MatSE students. If you miss an email or accidentally delete a job posting in which you're interested, go to http://go.illinois.edu/matse_jobs. On the site, you will find current and previous job postings which Cindy has forwarded to students.